Briar leads Charlie back to Portent Order to report the rescue of Armin Ormanheit. Sqyylarr and Watc reunite with the company with the news that the elfgate has inexplicably come good with complete stability, negating the need to acquire hillbillies. This would be distressing to Lieutenant Ormanheit if he were conscious to hear it.
Sqyylarr requests new tasks from Portent Order. Portent Order has a couple of make-work ideas, helping folks pack, assist in loading of materiel, maybe help seal the mine in the morning. Despite the compellingly tall piles of work on his desk, Portent Order pauses to answer questions.
Watc has referred openly within the party to the concentrated magic, vis, recently discovered in vast quantities within the mine. Although very obviously the central purpose of the caravan, vis’s existence seems to be treated as an open secret. Portent Order recognizes that a few of the group have direct and extensive awareness of the vis and its magic amplifying capabilities, but of course it would be a risk to the caravan for that information to become well known. Indeed, the mine has been emptied of its reserve of vis, most or all of it loaded into the specialized tankers designed and constructed under the guidance of the visitors, and will be sealed in order to disguise the epochal replenishment of the condensing vis.
On the topic of the visitors, Hops wonders if Portent Order would share any information regarding their nature, especially as a visitor might require a cleric’s services on the road. Drobe Mabara, as Portent Order refers to the surviving visitor, is himself a priest from the east. Briar, familiar with the Lapins of the Quora Desert at the far edge of Kara-tu, already has that much worked out, and he reveals as much to the rest of the company. That the company already has a solid notion of the caravan’s content, destination, timing, and sponsors both impresses and distresses Portent Order. He soberly warns Charlie that the more anyone knows of the caravan, the greater the danger. Ander assures Portent Order that Discretion is his middle name.
Ander Discretion Brightiron, waving a double-spaced requisition form, in triplicate, inquires where he might find a quartermaster to outfit him with every last tool kit in the Sword Coast annual catalog. Portent Order refers him to Quartermaster Schmeck.
Frank wonders what will become of Villa Glamhoth dal e’ Anto now that the vis has been extracted and the elfgate has become coincidentally stabilized. Portent Order doesn’t want to say too much about that.
Portent Order issues a decorative handy haversack of holding, amply provisioned with mission necessities, to Briar. Charlie retires for the evening. Ander gets to work enchanting armor and weapons for tomorrow since the most mundane days at the Villa tend to bring extreme violence lately.
Frank hardly rests in anticipation of sealing the mine. He eagerly leads the others to the mine entrance the next morning. A couple of senior wizards, one of them a gnome, direct the operation. Hops wonders how they expect to succeed without more dwarven participation since any dwarf is going to easily spot the amateur concealment, but, whatever.
Four tunnel runners emerge from the mine and declare it clear. An enormous boulder lands on all four runners and both wizards. At first this mine sealing plan looks inept even to non-dwarves, but then the group notices a couple of frost giants high up the mountain facade preparing to huck another boulder down.
The party scrambles apart to make less enticing any single target. Hops shields himself in faith. Ander summons a buff turret which spits some good health at Watc and Barika. The next boulder lands where Barika just was.
The giants jump down to mix it up. Frank-hastened Sqyylarr and Barika oblige the giants with alternating smacks of maul and axe. Ander keeps the turret in position while also catapulting nearby rocks across the giants. Watc sends a fireball at the giant cornered by Sqyylarr and Barika. That giant leaps over Sqyylarr and Barika and pounds Watc, saved only by Ander’s turret. The other giant critically smashes Barika and thumps Briar. Briar shifts and lays hands upon Barika. Hops channels the Mother of Safety to preserve Watc’s life. Frank tosses out some fire flavored chromatic orbs. Barika gets enraged and digs into the giant. Refreshed Watc puts a second fireball between the two giants and gets a second pounding before the giant leaps away to pick on Ander. The other giant gets a piece of Barika but misses Sqyylarr. They keep working on it and Briar chops it down. Sqyylarr smashes out the second giant.
Briar attempts to rescue the boulder-crushed mine sealers. Of six he stabilizes two. Watc makes a sending to Portent Order to bring help. Meanwhile, Charlie focuses their talents to pry the boulder up enough for the two survivors, Opryyxx and Ooodooor, to be extracted.
Portent Order, Arcane Regent Master Brand, Professor Fris Duratas, and a cleric arrive on the scene. The cleric notices something about the giant the party clearly missed in its investigation and summons Master Brand’s attention. Master Brand kicks the giant’s head, but it already got killed by Sqyylarr. Portent Order suggests Charlie Company returns to the villa to prepare for departure. Hops muses that instead of Charlie Company maybe they should be called Mit Shagnet Company which must be some kind of crude dwarven reference.